By Ibrahim Hassan, Kaduna 

The Christian Association of Nigeria ( CAN) Kaduna State Chapter, has called on Nigerians to show love and kindness by encouraging the act of giving at Christmas,as Nigeria today is dealing with though times. 

In a  Christmas message by Rev. John Joseph Hayab, Chairman, CAN Kaduna State Chapter and Country Drector, Global Peace Foundation Nigeria, he said “the birth of Christ is the ultimate gift ever given in the existence of the world, it is a symbolic gift that aims at exemplifying to us believers the importance of giving and the fact that there is absolutely no limit or boundaries to giving.”

He said that the “major theme of Christmas is “Giving” not just giving but selfless giving which is why we will see, Christ was gifted effortless to the womb that conceived him, when he came, he was birthed in an inn that

was not paid for, freely did the wise men from the east took the journey to the place of the blessed birth, for nothing but to give him gifts, royal, priestly and prophetic gifts.”

“Even during his ministry he fed people from bread and fish gotten freely, and he ended his life as a free gift for the salvation of mankind. Indeed it will not be far fetched to say, “giving is the reason for the season.”

“Our nation Nigeria today is dealing with the toughest of all times, things seem to be moving in regression, we do not seem to be growing as a nation, daily people die out of starvation, ill-health, poverty to mention but these. The fact is that our nation Nigeria is in dire need of kind hearted citizens who are willing to give there all for the survival of the nation and people. There is no better time that this nation ever needed the show of kindness than this material time.”

He said leaders during this season  must continually teach their people the importance of giving not only within this season but as long as they live on earth, 

 “The act of giving is not only for the old or young, rich or poor, mighty or lowly, no, as long as we are alive, we have what someone needs to gain hope again. In the biblical story of Lazarus and the rich man, the rich man was not condemned because he was rich, no, he was condemned because he had more than enough to give but he watch poor Lazarus suffer starvation. Someone just need a meal, a kind word, a hug, a smile, a little amount of money e.t.c to have hope in life again. This season calls us to attend to these needs of others.”

“Brethren, we are not blessed by the amount that we give, we are blessed by the quality

of our gift, a gift should be given in love with the sole purpose of meeting the needs of

others. This is an attitude parents should teach their children from their childhood as scripture says, when we train a child, he will grow and not depart from the right path.”

“This is a call to action not words, parents should provide for their children and guide them to picking what have been provided for them to give other people around them that are in need.”

“There are many children out there that needs just the fragments of the

old tattered toy that your child no longer need, some just need those clothes that your child can no longer wear, parents should be seen at the season and beyond guiding their children to picking these things and gifting other children within their reach, churches, societies, associations and individuals should be seen at this season meeting the needs of others, true love should be seen around, kindness should be felt in each street, neighborhood, village, town, city, and any where souls breath.”

“My heart was delighted at the break of the news of the Muslim Woman (Hajiya RamatuTijjani) who kick-started the distribution of food stuffs to christian widows in our dear state, this shows us that there are non Christians who understands the true meaning of these season.”

“I will call on our brothers and sisters who the lord has blessed to learn from this kind gesture of Hajiya Ramatu and be challenged. By this kind gesture she has contributed her quota to building a peaceful, and loving nation that we both so desire.

And scripture tells us that there is no gift given out of love that comes without a blessing. Psalm 112:5 reads, “Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,who conduct their affairs with justice”. 

“Let me reiterate, this is the time in this nation that we so desperately need this act of giving, this show of love and kindness. We should dedicate our lives to giving our all for the salvation of human kind especially as our nation takes final steps into the election year proper, we should fill the environment with mutual love, care and concern for each other, we should give respect, understanding, love, and tolerance to especially people who share opinions that are against our opinion, faith that is different from ours and believes that contradict our believes.”

“We should be seen truly leading the Christ-like life giving peace where there is trouble, joy where there is sorrow, comfort where there is despair, happiness where there is sadness as that is the only way we can most effectively speak Christ to the hardened heart.”

“As we celebrate this season, may heavens be kind to us, may God protect us all and may he grant us the grace to be able to live up to our expectations in this season that at the end his name alone will be glorified.”

“Never forget, do not let this season pass by without you giving something to someone in need and make Christ live always in you by keeping the virtue of giving even after the yuletide season.Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New year ahead,” he said.